I got an alert from my power company that our electricity usage is up 31% from last month. The furnace nods knowingly.
46 thoughts on “February 12, 2021: Power Surge”
Just a note on the site that I have used as my decision point for deciding which book I should read about everyone of the 44 men who have held the office. The person who compiled these lists read 240 books over six years for a total of 123,000+ pages. He rates every book on a 1 to 5 star rating and he had, count 'em, one 5 star rating: Washington: A Life, the first book that I read. So, it's all down hill from the very first book.
I will finish the Jefferson book this weekend and will move onto Madison. That book seems daunting: 671 pages and apparently very good, but not a page turner. It's about the same length as the Adams book and 150 pages shorter than Washington: A Life, but those books were extremely readable. After reading both the Washington and Adams books, I'm really interested in seeing the treatment that Madison gets.
I feel for you when you hit those 1830-40s presidents and 1870-90s presidents.
Van Buren is not of great interest, although I understand him to be a pretty good politician, just not a very good president. I have my Harrison book in house and it's not all that long (kind of like his presidency, ha!). Tyler is of some interest because traitor, and Polk, I think will be interesting because he was pretty successful in his one term. But, Taylor, Fillmore, and Pierce are gonna be tough. One thing I will say, though is that the books for each of these are much shorter than a lot of the others, which is good.
Grant will be exciting (and it's a Chernow book), Hayes..., Garfield, I think might be pretty good, despite his short presidency, Chet Arthur..., Cleveland might be good, but the Harrison book is north of 1000 pages(!!!!).
There's definitely some slogging in there. One of the indulgences I have in the list is TR. The recommendation is a trilogy of books that are a total of 2500 pages. I've debated whether I should commit to that, but he's surely one of the most interesting presidents in history and... he lived in North Dakota for a while and as a provincial, I am willing to commit a little (actually a lot) extra to our adopted son.
All you need to know right here:
The weird thing about TR is that his life was way, way more interesting before he was President. If you're going to pick one book about him, I would choose either The Rise of TR or Mornings on Horseback about his early years despite neither covering his Presidency. Each book in the Morris trilogy was progressively* less interesting.
*TR pun FTW
I'm looking for cradle to grave books because I'm interested in both the lives of the presidents as well as their presidencies. I'm not committed to the Morris trilogy yet even though it's in the plan. So, I'm open to alternatives. I really want to understand both the men and how their presidencies impacted America.
I'm going to agree with the Pirate here and recommend you steer clear of the Morris trilogy. I read another TR book that was pretty good but I think it was more about his stewardship at the expense of other topics.
I am taking suggestions!!!!! I have DPWY's books in mind, but a biography that treats his presidency, too, would be desirable.
Also, I'm looking for a Lincoln biography suggestion. Currently, I have Team of Rivals on my list. That, I think breaks the rules on cradle to grave, but I selected it to get one DKG book in the list. I am not married to it though.
Abraham Lincoln Redeemer President by Allen Guelzo is pretty good. Again, not a full look at his presidency however.
you could consider substituting one of the authors that DKG plagiarized instead.
Bravo. I was workshopping jokes.
Van Buren should be of great interest, as you suggest, not because of his presidency so much as his very significant role in helping to create "modern" political party organizations and competition.
The book on my list for MVB is literally called, "Martin Van Buren and the American Political System." Here's a fun fact: MVB's first language was not English.
That is one of my favoite trivia tidbits.
Another fun one: Neither is it Clarence Thomas' first language
I was going to add the two Bush presidents to the list.
That wouldn't have been prudent.
even at this juncture?
I feel for you when you hit those 1830-40s presidents and 1870-90s presidents. The Art of the Deal.
Are you reading Feldman's recent Madison book or something else?
James Madison: A Biography
Ketcham, Ralph
I'd love to see Twins-Cubs and Saints-Cubs day/night double headers.
Announcement expected today that the St. Paul Saints will be part of a 20 team Triple-A East (the name for now), playing in the Midwest Division. Also in their division: Iowa Cubs, Columbus Clippers, Indy Indians, Louisville Bats, Omaha Storm Chasers, + Toledo Mud Hens. #MNTwins
I thought we were on the budget plan, but according to the last gas bill we are not. And the next one is going to be worse.
We have not been billed for gas for three months, since PG&E did some meter and valve work (opposite side of my house from where I had been digging in my yard, people). When my lovely wife called to inquire, the PG&E person basically shrugged and said they'd get around to it. Ok, then.
In a related vein to the boss's presidential book list (in that it's a biography of a world leader), I just bought Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar and am looking forward to it.
I had to do a report on a WWII figure in 10th grade. We had to find a biography, read it, and do a report. I was definitely not ready for that at that age.
Tenth grade Phil: So a politburo isn't a kind of donkey?
Apparently I neglected to actually write the sentence "I picked Stalin."
Half baked.
I don't remember doing this. Who did you have for a teacher?
Summerbell? I may be mis-attributing the class. It's been a few years
I had Timm, who focused more on memorizing facts than critical analysis.
Yup, I had him for AP European... Did you take that one too? I can't recall.
Yes, I had him two years in a row
Apparently I neglected to actually write the sentence "I picked Stalin."
it was pretty obvious from the context. I give you a pass.
I took a Soviet Union studies class in 11th grade. Ever since, I have been fascinated by Russian History. I even took a class on Dostoevsky in college. It has been a very interesting history of that country/region/empire. I need to read a few books on the region from the 1990 til now as I only am aware of what I see on the news. Time to catch up
I took a Dostoevsky lit class in college. That was cool.
Remainder Spring Training tickets go on sale 2/24, although I can't imagine there'd be any left . I think my best chance might be 3/4 against the Rays. I'm bummed that non-game day workouts are closed to the public.
You may remember me mentioning my great-nephew, who has made several appearances at the Junior National Finals Rodeo. Well, he also wrestles, and today he won the state Junior High Wrestling Championship!
Congrats to him. Sheep, calves, horses, bulls, boys his weight; he can take them all!
I hope you are teaching him about the centrality of Madonna's "Crazy For You" to the wrestling culture.
That song probably belongs in somebody's top 5 list of Madonna songs.
Just a note on the site that I have used as my decision point for deciding which book I should read about everyone of the 44 men who have held the office. The person who compiled these lists read 240 books over six years for a total of 123,000+ pages. He rates every book on a 1 to 5 star rating and he had, count 'em, one 5 star rating: Washington: A Life, the first book that I read. So, it's all down hill from the very first book.
I will finish the Jefferson book this weekend and will move onto Madison. That book seems daunting: 671 pages and apparently very good, but not a page turner. It's about the same length as the Adams book and 150 pages shorter than Washington: A Life, but those books were extremely readable. After reading both the Washington and Adams books, I'm really interested in seeing the treatment that Madison gets.
I feel for you when you hit those 1830-40s presidents and 1870-90s presidents.
Van Buren is not of great interest, although I understand him to be a pretty good politician, just not a very good president. I have my Harrison book in house and it's not all that long (kind of like his presidency, ha!). Tyler is of some interest because traitor, and Polk, I think will be interesting because he was pretty successful in his one term. But, Taylor, Fillmore, and Pierce are gonna be tough. One thing I will say, though is that the books for each of these are much shorter than a lot of the others, which is good.
Grant will be exciting (and it's a Chernow book), Hayes..., Garfield, I think might be pretty good, despite his short presidency, Chet Arthur..., Cleveland might be good, but the Harrison book is north of 1000 pages(!!!!).
There's definitely some slogging in there. One of the indulgences I have in the list is TR. The recommendation is a trilogy of books that are a total of 2500 pages. I've debated whether I should commit to that, but he's surely one of the most interesting presidents in history and... he lived in North Dakota for a while and as a provincial, I am willing to commit a little (actually a lot) extra to our adopted son.
All you need to know right here:
The weird thing about TR is that his life was way, way more interesting before he was President. If you're going to pick one book about him, I would choose either The Rise of TR or Mornings on Horseback about his early years despite neither covering his Presidency. Each book in the Morris trilogy was progressively* less interesting.
*TR pun FTW
I'm looking for cradle to grave books because I'm interested in both the lives of the presidents as well as their presidencies. I'm not committed to the Morris trilogy yet even though it's in the plan. So, I'm open to alternatives. I really want to understand both the men and how their presidencies impacted America.
I'm going to agree with the Pirate here and recommend you steer clear of the Morris trilogy. I read another TR book that was pretty good but I think it was more about his stewardship at the expense of other topics.
I am taking suggestions!!!!! I have DPWY's books in mind, but a biography that treats his presidency, too, would be desirable.
Also, I'm looking for a Lincoln biography suggestion. Currently, I have Team of Rivals on my list. That, I think breaks the rules on cradle to grave, but I selected it to get one DKG book in the list. I am not married to it though.
Abraham Lincoln Redeemer President by Allen Guelzo is pretty good. Again, not a full look at his presidency however.
you could consider substituting one of the authors that DKG plagiarized instead.
Bravo. I was workshopping jokes.
Van Buren should be of great interest, as you suggest, not because of his presidency so much as his very significant role in helping to create "modern" political party organizations and competition.
The book on my list for MVB is literally called, "Martin Van Buren and the American Political System." Here's a fun fact: MVB's first language was not English.
That is one of my favoite trivia tidbits.
Another fun one: Neither is it Clarence Thomas' first language
I was going to add the two Bush presidents to the list.
That wouldn't have been prudent.
even at this juncture?
I feel for you when you hit
those 1830-40s presidents and 1870-90s presidents.The Art of the Deal.Are you reading Feldman's recent Madison book or something else?
James Madison: A Biography
Ketcham, Ralph
I'd love to see Twins-Cubs and Saints-Cubs day/night double headers.
While destroying Minor League Baseball is dumb, at least they seemed to have got this right (?) Totally set up for weekend road trips for fans.
Certainly makes more sense than the Omaha team playing in the Pacific Coast League.
If the AAA East is 20 teams, is the AAA West 10 teams?
The answer is yes, it is.
https://twitter.com/McGuire_GIS/status/1360336540220678150
I thought we were on the budget plan, but according to the last gas bill we are not. And the next one is going to be worse.
We have not been billed for gas for three months, since PG&E did some meter and valve work (opposite side of my house from where I had been digging in my yard, people). When my lovely wife called to inquire, the PG&E person basically shrugged and said they'd get around to it. Ok, then.
The Onion is still undefeated. Lavar Ball Claims Lamelo Unhappy About Being Left Off NBA's Top-50 All-time List
In a related vein to the boss's presidential book list (in that it's a biography of a world leader), I just bought Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar and am looking forward to it.
I had to do a report on a WWII figure in 10th grade. We had to find a biography, read it, and do a report. I was definitely not ready for that at that age.
Tenth grade Phil: So a politburo isn't a kind of donkey?
Apparently I neglected to actually write the sentence "I picked Stalin."
Half baked.
I don't remember doing this. Who did you have for a teacher?
Summerbell? I may be mis-attributing the class. It's been a few years
I had Timm, who focused more on memorizing facts than critical analysis.
Yup, I had him for AP European... Did you take that one too? I can't recall.
Yes, I had him two years in a row
it was pretty obvious from the context. I give you a pass.
I took a Soviet Union studies class in 11th grade. Ever since, I have been fascinated by Russian History. I even took a class on Dostoevsky in college. It has been a very interesting history of that country/region/empire. I need to read a few books on the region from the 1990 til now as I only am aware of what I see on the news. Time to catch up
I took a Dostoevsky lit class in college. That was cool.
Remainder Spring Training tickets go on sale 2/24, although I can't imagine there'd be any left . I think my best chance might be 3/4 against the Rays. I'm bummed that non-game day workouts are closed to the public.
Aaaand it looks like two ticket minimum 🙁
ESPN has the Twins farm system ranked 5th with 5 prospects in the Top 100 (Lewis, Kiriloff, Larnach, Jeffers, and Balazovic).
You may remember me mentioning my great-nephew, who has made several appearances at the Junior National Finals Rodeo. Well, he also wrestles, and today he won the state Junior High Wrestling Championship!
Congrats to him. Sheep, calves, horses, bulls, boys his weight; he can take them all!
I hope you are teaching him about the centrality of Madonna's "Crazy For You" to the wrestling culture.
That song probably belongs in somebody's top 5 list of Madonna songs.